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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Settlement Reached in ND Housing Discrimination Case

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Thursday, May 18, 2023   

A housing discrimination case in North Dakota dealing with occupancy standards has resulted in a settlement, and advocates say it underscores the challenges families face in maintaining stable housing when access is scarce.

The High Plains Fair Housing Center announced this week Affordable Housing Developers Incorporated has agreed to pay $100,000 over a claim from a working mother from Mandan. The woman, who did not want to be publicly identified, said she was forced to vacate her townhome after updating her lease to note the recent birth of her fifth child.

Nicki Green, intake director for the High Plains Fair Housing Center, said the developer's standards were too restrictive.

"This woman and her children had a three-bedroom unit and the max that was allowed there was five people per household, and this was a 1572-square-foot townhome," Green explained. "This is a big unit."

Green pointed out federal recommendations allow for more flexibility, and the family's living situation did not violate any city codes. The agreement was issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The complex was not a HUD property, but the developers did receive federal funding. As part of the settlement, leadership with the development group denies engaging in any discrimination.

Green emphasized there is a ripple effect stemming from a case like this, noting the family, which had always paid its rent on time, was uprooted to Fargo because the situation forced the mom to get a new job there.

"It was really hard for the family, it was really hard for the kids," Green recounted. "The kids didn't understand, they didn't know why they had to move suddenly, and it felt for them like a message that they weren't welcomed there."

In 2020, the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency issued a report, which highlighted affordable housing shortages within the state.

Green noted the Mandan case does not send a good message when North Dakota is trying to recruit residents to fill jobs.

"Losing access to housing means you lose access to community, jobs, good schools," Green added. "We want families of all sizes and types and in all neighborhoods, we want that to be the norm."

Disclosure: The High Plains Fair Housing Center contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Civil Rights, Housing/Homelessness, and Human Rights/Racial Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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